State of the Laboratory—1986: ORNL Engages in Collaborative Research. ORNL is performing an increasing amount of work jointly with technical groups in industry, universities, other national laboratories, and laboratories in foreign countries. This collaborative research includes a physics experiment at an accelerator in Switzerland, applications. of surface-modification techniques, studies of radon in the home, the Integrated Forest Study, breeder fuel-reprocessing tests in Japan, development and testing of SDI optical components, modeling of the Chernobyl reactor accident, and tests of superconducting magnets and pellet fueling for fusion energy.

Positive Feedback in Nature. Ecologists have increasingly come to appreciate the positive feedback processes that occur in ecosystems. These processes are self-amplifying and promote ecological change as well as biological production and diversity. Positive feedback is involved in coevolution, ecological succession, insect and disease outbreaks, and many phenomena.

The U.S.-Japan Collaboration on Breeder Fuel Reprocessing: ORNL's Role. In March 1986 the United States and Japan agreed to collaborate on developing and demonstrating breeder-reactor fuel reprocessing at a Japanese fuel-recycling pilot plant, which incorporates technology developed at ORNL. The U.S. work, mostly in remote technology, is centered at ORNL.

National Laboratories and Science Education: The University Relations Programs at ORNL. ORNL and other national laboratories play a significant role in the education and training of university students and providing unique research experiences for university faculty. To improve science education and encourage more U.S. students to choose technical careers, ORNL has developed new programs for undergraduate and precollege education.

Environmental Aspects of the Chernobyl Accident. When news of the Chernobyl nuclear accident was first announced in April 1986, ORNL scientists made calculations to determine about when the accident had occurred. Other ORNL scientists helped model the accident and used information on fission-product concentrations in Europe to determine the chemical conditions affecting the two releases of radioactivity from the stricken reactor. Since then, ORNL scientists have been analyzing environmental radiation data from Europe and the Soviet Union.

Environmental and Health Impacts of Water Chlorination. ORNL chemist Bob Jolley was the first to identify potentially hazardous organic compounds formed by adding chlorine to wastewater. He has also led an effort to identify drinking water compounds that cause thyroid disease.

Groundwater Pollution: Environmental and Legal Problems. A book edited by two ORNL researchers discusses the implications of groundwater pollution caused by human discharges of synthetic chemicals. ORNL scientists' attempts to monitor and prevent deteriorative groundwater quality are explored.

New Agents To Detect Heart Disease. ORNL's Nuclear Medicine Group has designed and developed radioactive agents for safely and more clearly evaluating heart disease and the effectiveness of therapy. These agents include iodine-123-labeled methyl-branched fatty acids. The group has also developed an improved iridium-191m generator to diagnose heart problems in children. The methyl-branched fatty acids will be tested this year in human patients in Boston and Vienna, and the generator has just entered clinical trials in Europe.

The Advanced Toroidal Facility: Improving Fusion's Chances . Because further improvements in doughnut-shaped, or toroidal, fusion devices are desirable, ORNL has designed an Advanced Toroidol Facility (ATF). An optimized version of a stellarator (which differs from a tokamak in that it lacks a plasma current to magnetically confine the fusion fuel), the ATF will be built in Oak Ridge and is scheduled to begin operation in late 1986.

SPECIAL SECTION: Technology for Efficient Power Systems. ORNL is managing the Department of Energy program for developing and testing technologies designed to make electric power systems safer, more reliable, and more efficient. ORNL's interdisciplinary staff of experts has taken on a variety of projects, including planning an automated distribution experiment for Athens, Tennessee, and developing a fiber optics measurement device, low-loss steel alloy, and new insulating materials for use in transformers.

The Oak Ridge Environment: A Resource To Be Managed. A five-year plan for managing the resources of the Oak Ridge Reservation of the Department of Energy has been developed at ORNL The plan, which is described in the third in a series of articles on ORNL and the environment, deals with both natural and technical resources and provides the means for resolving resource issues such as endangered plant species, contaminated sewage sludge, and the fast-growing deer population.

Making R&D Pay Off: How ORNL Interacts with Industry. Recently the federal government has removed impediments to the transfer of government-sponsored technology to industry. As a result, ORNL has new staff consulting and patent policies and has established a fund to promote technology transfer. Efforts also have been made by the federal government, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., and ORNL to stimulate and support the creation of small businesses to help the economy.

Communicating Health Risks to the Public. The public is worried about low-level effects of environmental agents on health. Its perception of the health risks involved, however, is often different from the actual risks. The scientific establishment, the new media, and culturally ingrained fears and expectations may well be responsible for this discrepancy. That was the consensus of a recent workshop on communicating risks.

ORNL and the Environment: Views of State and Federal Regulations. In 1983 the State of Tennessee sought for the first time to acquire the right to regulate ORNL's discharges to the environment. Recently the state conducted a compliance evaluation inspection and recommended that ORNL take action to solve its environmental problems. In this second part of a series, the authors discuss steps that ORNL is taking to respond to the inspection report and the legal issues pertaining to environmental management at the Laboratory.

How Does ORNL Affect the Environment? ORNL's day-to-day operations for the most part have a beneficial effect on the human environment, although the impacts of its primary product—new scientific and technological information—are speculative. Slightly adverse impacts arise from releases of toxic materials from research activities; however, none of these releases is a threat to human health.

Building a Better Ion Trap: Atomic Physicists Study Recoil Ions. A new technique developed at ORNL under the leadership of two university professors traps ions of very low energies. This "recoil ion storage" technique permits studies of the transfer of electrons from atoms during collisions with multicharged, low-energy ions and opens the way to future precision spectroscopy experiments on ions.

The Mathematics of Artificial Intelligence. Mathematicians at ORNL are applying the principles of artificial intelligence to energy-related problems. Their goals include designing an economical, energy-efficient solar house and programming a robot to avoid obstacles so that it can operate in a hazardous environment, such as a nuclear reprocessing plant.

Sol-Gel and Gel-Sphere Technology: Powders for Power. Sol-gel technology, developed over a 25-year period at ORNL, has been used to make spherical, beadlike particles for nuclear reactor fuels. Today industry is showing interest in the technology for making ceramics of uniform composition for electronic and other nonnuclear applications. A researcher involved in the development of the prizewinning technology tells its history.